Trading Puljujarvi might be risky
winger has struggled since being drafted by oilers but some think he could blossom
When you don’t get points, you lose your confidence. I still think he’ll be a good player for that team.
With Jesse Puljujarvi’s Finnish agent Markus Lehto here, the trade engine rumours are on full-blast — you’re entitled to ask if Jesse and longtime buddy, Carolina centre Sebastian Aho might be a fix — but let’s take a step back here with the Edmonton Oilers winger.
The cautionary tale with trading high-end first-round picks is Dylan Strome in Arizona. He was spinning his wheels in Arizona, could barely make a dent with the Coyotes, but Chicago wanted to see if he could play with his junior teammate Alex DeBrincat, and so far it’s a home run for the Hawks.
Strome had six points in 20 games for Arizona, and has 31 in 34 games for Hawks.
The Oilers have screwed it up with Puljujarvi, who should have stayed in Finland for the 20162017 season for another year of pro or should have been in the minors for at least half of his first three pro seasons in North America. He’s been in Bakersfield for 53 games, in three moderately successful stints on the farm. Nashville on average has their prospects play 125 AHL games. Puljujarvi will likely be going to the AHL after the trade deadline because that’s where he should be, having fun and learning with other kids on a Condors team that had 13 straight wins going into a Friday game with Ontario Reign.
But the Oilers are certainly listening to trade pitches.
Puljujarvi at this point is no better than a third-line NHL winger, but he is only 20 (21 in May). There are some who wonder if that is all he will ever be, but, again, he is 20. He has four goals and nine points, two snipes and six points the last two months.
He has not learned to use his 6-foot-4 frame, big backside and long stick in the corners to keep checkers at bay. The puck is far too often on his stick for a second and it’s gone. When he scores he is almost the most surprised person in the building at this point. He does not think the game well enough, but, again, he is 20 and he should be thinking it in Bakersfield.
“I’m sure he gets frustrated when it’s not going his way,” said Aho, who has 64 points and is the captain in waiting here whenever Jordan Staal, trying to recover from a concussion, leaves.
“It’s natural for everyone when it’s not going right, it’s the human mind,” said Aho, who has known Puljujarvi since he was 13 or 14 and played two years with him in Finland (Karpat organization). They were in the world junior on the same line in 2016 when Puljujarvi was tournament MVP.
“Sometimes it takes a while in this league, it’s nothing unusual.
“When you don’t get points, you lose your confidence. I still think he’ll be a good player for that team. He has to feel comfortable every night. You can be good for one night, but …”
Aho, who is nine months older than Puljujarvi (July 26 of ’97 to May 7 of ’98) was the engine that drove that Puljujarvi-Patrik Laine line in junior. In 217 NHL games, Aho has 178 points. Puljujarvi has 37 in 138. Laine has 170 points in 213 games.
Lehto, who also represents Oiler goalie Mikko Koskinen and Carolina forwards Val Filppula and Tuevo Teravainen, played junior hockey in Oshawa and on the Finnish ’84 Olympic team. Tuukka Rask’s agent lives in Chicago.
Oiler coach Ken Hitchcock was an assistant in Philly for two years in the early ’90s when Carolina bench boss Rod Brind’Amour played there, and has always admired him.
“I was part of the deal when we got Rod from St. Louis,” said Hitchcock, “and he sets an example the way he goes about everyday business. He’s become a student of the game, but he’s never lost his player instincts and that’s a great quality to have.
“He was here in Carolina for a long time as an assistant coach learning his trade, but he’s still got the qualities of a determined player and that’s what he wants from his players and you can see that in their game. He’s very outspoken about it, sometimes in a humorous way, where he wants to put the gear back on,” added Hitchcock.
“He was relentless as a player and you see it in his coaching, he doesn’t let his players take a breath. He’s going to be a good coach for a long time.”
Brind’Amour was asked if he could ever see himself coaching against his boy Skyler, the Oilers’ draft pick currently playing junior A in Chilliwack. “That’s a long way off. I know how the coaching racket works (hirings and firings). I don’t know if
I’ll make it that long,” kidded Brind’Amour.
This ’n that: If the Oilers were to consider trading Cam Talbot to the Flyers to save money on the cap, they would almost surely want 6-foot-6 goalie Anthony Stolarz ($766,000 cap hit) back in the deal. He’s a restricted free agent after this season. Of course, the Flyers could just sign Talbot as a free-agent July 1 and give up nothing.